Overshoe-retainer.



v. E. LANGHARDT. OVEBSHOE RETAINER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. l1, 19H}.

1,302,677. Patentd May a, 1919.

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VICTOR E. LANGHAEDT, OF HELM, CALIFORNIA.

OVERSHOE-RETAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1919.

Application filed December 1'7, 1918. SerialNo. 267,178.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Vroron E. LANGHARDT, citizen of the United States, residing at Helm, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Overshoe-Retainers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to overshoe retainers and has for its object to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive device of this character adapted to be attached to the heel portion of an overshoe or rubber and which will effectually prevent th overshoe from slipping or becoming accidentally detached from the shoe when the wearer is walking through slush or on muddy roads and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide an overshoe retainer including an ankle engaging strap having a supporting plate depending therefrom and to which are secured suitable spring clasps adapted to grip the heel portion of an overshoe at each side of the medial line thereof and retain said overshoe in position when walking.

A further object is to provide the inner face of the depending supporting plate with a cushion or pad toprevent injury to the shoe and to construct the ankle engaging strap in such manner as to permit the sup porting plate to readily conform to the shape of the back of the shoe.

A further object of the invention is to generally improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efficiency.

Other and incidental objects will appear during the course of the detailed description of the invention. In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an overshoe retainer constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing the device in position on a shoe,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the rear portion of the retainer,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view of the rear portion of the ankle engaging strap detached.

The improved device forming the subject matter of the present invention is principally designed for preventing accidental displacement of rubbers, Arctics, and other overshoes, and by way of illustration is shown in connection with a rubber of the ordinary construction in which 5 designates the heel portion of the overshoe or rubber and 6 the shoe. The device comprises an attaching strap 7 preferably formed of a single length of leather, one end of which is provided with a bu'ckle 8 and the other end with a series of perforations 9 adapted to receive the tongue of the buckle so that the strap may be readily adjusted to the ankle of the wearer, as will be readily understood. Depending from the rear portion of the strap 7 is a supporting plate 10 and secured to said supporting plate are spaced spring clasps 11, each provided with an extension or shank 12, the end of which is interposed between the sup porting plate and attaching strap 7 and is secured in position thereon by a rivet or other suitable fastening device 13. The inner face .of the plate 11 is preferably oovered by a thin strip of leather or canvas 14 which extends over the heads of the rivets 13 and secured in any suitable manner to said strip 14: is a cushion or pad 15 of felt, Canton flannel, or other yieldable material, 80 as to prevent scratching or otherwise injuring the upper of the shoe vwhen the retainer is in position thereon.

That portion of the attaching strap 7 between the shanks of the spring clasps 11 is preferably weakened or reduced in width as indicated at 16, so as to permit the strap and supporting plate 10 to readily conform to the shape of the rear portion of the shoe 6, it being, of course, understood that the supporting plate 10 will be constructed of leather or other flexible material to permit bending thereof. The canvas backing strip 14 and pad 15 are preferably retained in position on the plate 11 by one or more rows of stitching 18, but if desired, said pad and backing strip may be secured to the supporting plate by glue or other adhesive material.

It will here be noted that the rivets 13 not only serve to secure the clasps 11 in position on the supporting plate 10 but also serve to secure the supporting plate to the ankle engaging strap 7. As the shanks 12 of the clasps 11 extend the entire height of the supporting plate 10, said shanks serve to reinforce said plate while the latter by engage ment with the shanks of the clasps serve to hold the clasps in a straight line and prevent bending thereof at the shanks of the clasps.

In using the device, the attaching strap 7 is passed around the ankle of the wearer and fitted thereto by passing the tongue of r the buckle in any one of the openings 9,

after which the jaws of the spring clasps are opened against the tension of the springs 19 and said jaws caused to grip the rear portion of the heel of the rubber 5, in which position the rubber will be effectually retained on the shoe when walking through slush or mud. Owing to'the flexibility of the'supporting plate 10 and the ankle engaging strap 7 at its point of attachment to the plate 10, the parts may be readily bent to conform to the rear portion of the shoe of the wearer, as best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Should the heel of the rubber have a tendency to slip slightly on the shoe, the pad 15 by engagement withthe shoe will prevent cutting, scratching, or otherwise abrading the leather.

The device is extremely simple in construction and may be manufactured and placed on the market at a relatively small cost. It will, of course, be understood that the overshoe retainers may be'made in different sizes and shapes and when used for supporting low heeled or skeleton rubbers,

the shanks of the clasps will be madecorrespondingly longer.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. An overshoe retainer including an ankle engaging strap, a supporting plate depending from the strap, spaced clasps carried by the supporting plate for engagement with the heel of an overshoe, said clasps being each provided with a shank extending the entire height of the plate and interposed between the plate and ankle engaging strap,

and a single fastening device extending through the shank of each clasp and through the supporting plate and ankle engaging strap respectively.

2. An overshoe retainer including an ankle engaging strap, a supporting plate depending from the strap, a clasp having a shank interposed between the plate and strap, a rivet extending through the shank of the clasp and through the strap and plate respectively, a covering for the inner head of the rivet, and a cushioning pad extending over said covering and disposed at the inner face of the supporting plate.

3. An overshoe retainer including an ankle engaging strap, a supporting plate depending from the strap at the rear portion thereof, spaced clasps carried by the plate and provided with shanks interposed between the plate and strap, fastening devices extending through'the shanks and through the supporting plate and strap respectively, and a pad secured to the inner face of the supporting plate, that portion of the ankle engaging strap between the clasps being weakened to permit the supporting plate and strap to conform to the shape of the heel of the shoe.

4. An overshoe retainer including an ankle engaging strap, having a part thereof cut away to produce a weakened portion, a sup porting plate depending from the strap at the weakened portion thereof, spaced clasps arranged one on each side of the weakened portion of the strap and each provided with a shank extending the entire height of the supporting plate and interposed between said supporting plate and strap, a single rivet passing through the shank of each clasp and through the supporting plate and strap, and a pad secured to the inner face of the supporting plate and forming a covering for the heads of the rivets.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' I VICTOR E. LANGHARDT. [L.S-]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, I). G. 

